Monthly Archives: November 2013

We’ve all heard about staying “one-on-one” with the Listener, and now it’s more important than ever. Singular terms work (iPhone, iPad, iTunes), because it’s an “I-me-my” world. Each person wants to be treated as an individual. The old “everybody out there in radio land” mentality went the way of the lava lamp and the ‘mood ring’ a long time ago. The connection with the Listener is fragile. Little wording choices make or break it.

So starting today, avoid using ‘plural’ terms like “those of you” or “all of you.” They’re not one-on-one. Those are pretty obvious, but it can get tricky. For instance…

It’s not “some of you might have seen her last night on Letterman.” There aren’t “some of me.” Instead, say “you might have seen her last night on Letterman.”

“We’ll take your phone calls” is another one. WHOSE phone calls? You’re either talking to some faceless “collective” or you apparently expect me to make more than one phone call. Instead, say “You can call now” or just “call now,” which feels like you’re saying it to me, even though you may also be including all those “other” clod….uh, people.

If you have to talk about “people,” talk to me ABOUT “them.”
Example: Instead of addressing “Everyone listening right now” or “all of you listening,” say “You, and everybody else listening right now.”

Stay SINGULAR. Talk to me. ONE person. The listener, not “listeners.” Don’t throw me in the barrel with them. It’s like the great Groucho Marx said, “I don’t want to be a member of any club that would have me as a member.”

My sister mentioned a morning show that she listens to every day, which has recently made a personnel change. In addition to the husband and wife team, the show has now replaced the male Newsperson with a female.

The station is female-targeted, so the added “estrogen factor” can be a strength. The two females in the mix should, theoretically, be able to focus on the Listener’s life and interests even more effectively, and have the added “battle of the sexes” playfulness of ganging up on the male co-host.

But, according to my sister, that’s not what’s happening. She says that they spend too much time “chasing rabbits”—careening away from the subject incrementally, but steadily, to where the original point is lost. THEY’RE having loads of fun, but my sister—a core P1 Listener—is growing restless.

Be clear that just because YOU’RE having fun does NOT necessarily mean that your Listener is having fun. If someone just tuned in to the show, they don’t have TIME to figure out what you’re talking about. So don’t go off “chasing rabbits.” You can take one step away from the subject, but then come back. Taking two steps away is one too many.

Hopefully, you listen to your show regularly, so you can hear yourself more like the Listener hears you. So take a tip from how a lot of great Production Talents work—listen at a fairly low level, often through a small cue speaker. (Same thing with many recording engineers and Producers.) They may mix at “blast,” but then they’ll play it back at “background” level.

There are good reasons for the Low Volume Test:
• You can really hear the levels, to tell if background music for a break you’re doing—or a spot or a promo—is too loud or too soft. (Or whether it fits the mood and cradles the subject, or it’s just thumpy-thumpy noise.)
• You get a much truer read on whether you sound natural and real, or you’re just another booming, “announcing” radio guy, over-inflecting and “selling” too much.
• You get feedback more at the visceral level about pace and momentum.
• You not only can, but DO instantly decide, subconsciously or even UNconsciously, whether the person you’re hearing is interested in what he’s saying, or is having any FUN.

You want to listen at about half the level most disc jockeys usually listen at. So YOU can feel the momentum, interest level, and fun factors, instead of putting every little thing under a magnifying glass all the time, but not really learning anything about the Voice Acting part of your craft.

Once you hear yourself this way, you’ll never hear the show the same way again.

It’s like being in a room, with a movie playing on the TV in the next room. A bad actor reads lines. A great actor IS that character he’s playing.

No doubt about it; the thing I get asked about the most is Content; what to talk about each day. Choosing the right Content is crucial to doing a great show, no matter what your radio station’s format is.

Some of your Content is provided for you with station promotions and events, contests, special listener “clubs” that give feedback on the music, stuff like that. And in a music format, there’s always stuff about the artists, concert dates (if they apply to your market), and whatever special musical features you provide.

But that’s only about half of what you need.

Here’s a good “default setting” list of The 5 Subjects that will always work:

1. The Economy—specifically Job Stuff. Money is the #1 motivator. Not enough money, you’re unhappy. Plenty of money, you want to protect it and make sure it doesn’t vanish overnight, so you can put your kids through school or have enough to retire someday. So job stuff is always something to pay attention to. And there’s always comparing our jobs to other people’s jobs. Take working at Walmart, for instance; that’s worse than being the President of a bank, but a lot better than being a javelin catcher.

2. Entertainment. We’re an Entertainment-driven nation. Whether it’s “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” hoping Miley Cyrus will have that tongue-shortening operation she so desperately needs, or just paying attention to the movies and TV shows your listener likes the most, the Entertainment world is ripe with stuff you can use. However, stay away from being obvious or salacious with it. And you can’t just read a bunch of stuff from websites. It has to be the same kind of conversation you’d have with a friend over lunch, or at a backyard barbecue.

4. “The Buzz.” The thing today that everyone seems to be talking about should ALWAYS be on your radar screen. To not talk about it is to be an ostrich, with your head stuck in the sand, and there’s a real danger in seeming like you’re not aware of it. There’s one exception, however, and that’s if the Value position of your station means that you should avoid talking about it, like maybe something that people wouldn’t want the kids in the car to hear, for instance. In that case, you might want to make a point of saying that you’re NOT going to talk about it—and why.

5. “Things that grow out of the show.” As your career develops, you’ll find things that are unique to you. Use them. For example, one guy I work with, Don Godman, made a wonderful little feature out of his son’s adventures, called “The Gavin Report.” It’s delivered—by Gavin—like a child’s news magazine, with something like going to a museum or the State Fair being an “episode.” It’s the single most remembered thing about Don’s show. His audience feels like they’ve watched his son grow up on the radio.

If what you want to talk about doesn’t fit into one of these categories, I’d strongly recommend that you just toss it. Even Politics should “qualify” by being “the buzz” or looking at how the issues affect people’s lives and relationships.